Amador County – Amador County is facing potential large court-appointed fees as officials prepare for two murder cases with six defendants, all of which may qualify as special circumstance cases.

General Services Director John Hopkins said “talk about a perfect storm.” He loosely estimated it could cost $2.5 million to appoint special circumstance defenders, and “there is cause for concern.” Estimates are $275,000 to $550,000 each, adding that “when I say projections, they’re guess-timates” but he was “fully confident it’s going to exhaust the public defender’s budget;” then contingencies; and when it affects the General Fund, he will need a four-fifths Supervisors’ vote to spend those funds.

Hopkins on Tuesday said County Auditor Joe Lowe told him to exhaust the two funds then go to the county. The funds are reimbursable from the state. Supervisor Ted Novelli said the state could push out the reimbursement 36 months. Hopkins said May is the cutoff for the next funding cycle.

Supervisor Louis Boitano said the county could figure to try to make a capital case set-aside fund, and there is always the possibility for problems at Mule Creek. Hopkins said it’s been 26 years since the last homicide case with special circumstances, and they are still looking for ways to fund the new cases.

Novelli asked “what if someone had millions in the bank.” Hopkins said rules do not preclude him from having property assessed, and being pubic funds, it would be appropriate to look at defendants’ ability to pay their own defense.

Novelli said he should use extreme caution in paying the bills,” if that means making phone calls, “because once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said they are talking about the cost to prosecute and also the cost to defend the two cases. Hopkins said estimate totals of $2 million to $2.5 million are only until the end of the year, not the end of the trials.

Boitano said in one case, “there were two vehicles and one vehicle got away,” so they could end up with more defendants.

Forster agreed with Lowe that he should exhaust the funds, and then come back to the board. Hopkins said he could give regular reports on the spending, and it will take a lot of time and be a big drain on his department.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.